Full Moon Nights
by MyLittleElphie
Summary: During the past two years she really had come to love full moon nights, the only time of the month when she was truly and completely herself again. Memories of her old life also were much more vivid then. One-shot related to my multi-chap "A Love to Remember" but Gelphiyero/ Gliyeraba.


_**AN:**_

_Hi there, it's me again! _

_So here is my second one-shot and this one is for MoonlitInuko – our conversations about ALTR and other things _Wicked_ were a huge source of inspiration [as I have already said numeral times :3 ]_

_This story consists of two parts: the middle part is just like I always write stories – lots of dialogue and fast moving plot. And then there is the "frame" part (the bits in the beginning and the end), which is highly analytic and if there is one thing I usually seem to be avoiding in my stories it's having my characters mull over things like crazy. Well, I might write about them doing it, but I usually don't write about their exact thoughts. So being kinda new to this approach, there are two things that can go terribly wrong: 1) The character's train of thoughts could end up completely incoherent to the reader and/or 2) I could be totally over-thinking and over-analyzing the subject. I've read a couple of stories where I just could not help but groan at endless analyses that went totally over the top. With a little bit of luck that's exactly what I did here lol So it would be extremely helpful if you could let me know what you think concerning how I did with this part…_

_And for the content:__ So this is related to my multi-chap "A Love to Remember" and if you have not read this one you might have trouble here and there to really understand what's going on, but I guess you can always try anyway (or quickly go and read my multi-chap first, hehe). If you have read ALTR, be advised, that this one-shot is Gelphiyero/ Gliyeraba themed. Nothing happens 'physically', it's more like thoughts on the topic, so as long as you keep an open mind you should be fine. If, on the other hand, the idea simply doesn't appeal to you or offends you in any way, now is your chance to hit the __back button__! ALTR was pretty straight forward Fiyeraba, except for tiny crumbs of Gelphie that I tried to kinda hide in plain sight for everyone who was really looking for it, but still well enough so people who don't like it could easily overlook any hint in that direction. So basically this one-shot is what I really had in mind the whole time while writing ALTR xD_

_Sorry for the long AN! _

_And now,_

_Happy reading!_

_xoxo MLE_

* * *

**Full Moon Nights ****(May 2014)**

It was in the middle of the night and she was still awake, completely engrossed in the book she had just begun reading. Next to her, her husband was sleeping like a log, but thankfully not snoring for once.

Noticing movement from within her womb, she put the book aside and gently laid a soft hand on the stretched skin. She smiled when she felt the tiny human inside poking and kicking. She was truly happy.

Preoccupied with showering their three-year old son with love and attention, they both had not thought much about having a second child, but when she unexpectedly had fallen pregnant, neither her, nor Fiyero had had any objections.

For both of them it was a wonderful opportunity to finally experience what they had missed out on the first time, when she had been carrying Liir. In contrast to Fiyero, Elphaba had been there, of course, but she still had no recollection of most that had happened during that period. After spending a few sleepless nights pondering her discontent, she had found solace in the realization that, one way or another, given her difficult circumstances at the time, there would have been scarcely any joyful pregnancy memories worth mourning after.

But this time everything was just perfect; she was surrounded by friends and family, felt safe and loved. And as if life wanted to make it up to her, this pregnancy so far had been as uncomplicated and as blissful as it could possibly be. Throughout the entire eight months, she had neither experienced nausea, nor backache; she was still full of energy and comparatively agile. The only minor ailment bothering her was this horrible insomnia.

At night she would lie awake for hours upon hours, not being able to close her eyes. It was the hormones she knew. And the worries. Like many expectant mothers she would worry over just about anything. Her worst fear, however, would surely never cross any other woman's mind, for, above all, she was afraid that the babe she was carrying under her heart could take after her and be born with emerald green skin.

Though most of the time she was not green anymore – a spell and great sacrifice had rid her of that. These days it was only at full moon that she would assume her natural colour. During the past two years she really had come to love full moon nights, the only time of the month when she was truly and completely herself again. Memories of her old life also were much more vivid then. But now, so were her doubts.

Little Liir was about as pale as they come, but not all children born to the same set of parents look exactly alike, she knew. What if a girl would be more likely to inherit her verdigris than a boy would? What if a child sired on a full moon night (which was more than likely) would be born with the colour her mother had been at conception? What if Liir's skin tone had been nothing but a fluke and every single one of her future sons and daughters would sport emerald skin? There were simply too many questions and possibilities and no precedent.

Of course she was nothing like her father had been. She would love every single one of her children unconditionally and she knew Fiyero would, too, but she was well aware of how much easier life for the whole family would be if they would just look, well, _normal_.

She was not thinking about it the way she had once longed to be pale skinned in order to avoid ridicule and ostracism, or simply so someone would take her seriously. Her current fears rather pertained to the consequences of being born green in a world where this colour was still very much associated with the greatest villain known to mankind (Yes, Ozians are rather fond of exaggerations). After all, even Avaric's trial had been only partially successful in changing people's perception on something that had become so deeply ingrained in their belief system.

When her mind slowly came back from its reveries, she found that the kicking had subsided. She smiled to herself and decided for the umpteenth time to quit worrying.

She picked up the book again. It was a transcript of Glinda's diary. Not the one the blonde had given her for her birthday almost two years ago, but a new one; '_the sequel'_ Glinda had told her winking, memoirs of her second year at Shiz University.

It took her only a few pages to realize that something about this volume was fairly different compared to the first one. The whole atmosphere had changed, although she could not quite put her finger on it.

As she read on, covering about two months' worth of entries, she then came across what must have been the most extensive essay Glinda Upland had ever composed. Flipping through the pages, Elphaba estimated that it was at least twice as long as anything her blonde friend had ever written for her assignments.

More than its length, however, its content was what really astonished her. After spending several hours trying, but ultimately failing to figure out what exactly it was that made her feeling so antsy about this book, this piece of writing portrayed the issue in perfect explicitness.

After finishing reading the essay, Elphaba closed the book and once more lost herself in thoughts. She was not angry or confused, not even the slightest bit upset. Truth be told, she was scarcely surprised at all, for at some level she had always known. It was funny though, how it had taken a clear, written statement like this for her to fully appreciate the whole conundrum.

Love is such a curious thing, is it not? It comes in all forms and shapes. One could spend a lifetime studying it and would yet barely scratch the surface of this enigmatic phenomenon. She herself had not even dared imagining ever loving anybody else but her sister, until she had met her perky blonde roommate at Shiz. So of course she was not an expert by any means, but that did not stop her from analyzing the subject as she had experienced it.

Life has a strange way of working itself out. How had things come to be the way they were? She turned her head to study her sleeping husband's face. Still so handsome, so kind. How was it that _she_ was the one lying beside him tonight and how was _he_ the one to lie beside her? Some would call it _fate_, but she did not believe in such a thing. For her there was a better, more logical explanation.

At first glance Elphaba and Glinda were polar opposites, but that was merely a superficial observation. In truth they shared this strong bond, a connection that ran so much deeper than pure friendship or any single kind of love ever could. They felt and expressed their love for each other in so many different ways, on so many levels, that Elphaba had always asked herself whether their bizarre, yet absolutely wonderful relationship was unique in this world. Could there really be another pair like them? She had always thought that the odds seemed incredibly small. Or was she merely too biased? Maybe she did overrate the singularity of what they had a little, but to her it was nonetheless exceptional and sacred.

She imagined that Glinda could be anything and everything to her; the potential of their relationship was near unlimited. And she much hoped that she could be the same to Glinda.

And Fiyero? Sweet Oz, she loved Fiyero more than she could ever say, more than life itself. And she did need him. He was the wind beneath her wings when she was falling too fast, her anchor when the raging sea of emotions threatened to swallow her. Their love was strong, passionate and uncompromising, but also somehow one-dimensional when compared to her multifaceted ties with her blonde princess. If Elphaba and Fiyero had not become lovers, husband and wife, would they even still know each other? Somehow she could not imagine any other role for him in her life but this _one_.

That was the difference between Elphaba and Glinda and Elphaba and Fiyero. And from that angle things had simply fallen into place accordingly. Only subconsciously discerning the intricacies of this complicated cluster of relationships and possibilities, she had made her choices. And so had they. This surely was how things had come to be the way they were now. Elphaba was positive that she had seen through the mystery.

Anyway, whatever one would label the relationships she had with_ her_ and _him -_ neither was expendable. Every short second she was able to spend with either one of them was precious and every single moment the three of them shared together made her feel so much more alive than she previously could have imagined. Physically, life tended to keep them a part lately – almost more often than she could bear. But then there always were the fond memories she carried in her heart.

One of her favourite memories would have to be their vacation at Lake Chorge - and that even though, when Glinda had first asked her, she had not had the slightest inclination to go.

* * *

"_Oh, Elphie! Why not?" the blonde whined, leaning against her roommate as they sat on Elphaba's bed. "We'll have so much fun!"_

_The green girl gently, but firmly pushed her away and stood, fetching her satchel from under the bed. _

"_Well, you go and have fun, my sweet, and I will stay right here, enjoying the peace and quiet. Maybe I can even finish my next three essays while no one is here to bother me."_

_Glinda's lower lip began to quiver. _

"_I never knew that I was such a nuisance to you," she snivelled and Elphaba turned back around._

_Tenderly she wiped away the stray tear running down the other girl's rosy cheek. _

"_Don't cry, Glinda, that's not what I meant. You know it's not. But I really don't think that I should come with you. For one, you have Fiyero – I would be only in the way."_

_Before Glinda could say another word, Elphie was already out of the door and on her way to the library. _

_In the evening of that same day at dinner the two roommates shared a table with Fiyero, Boq and Nessarose. _

"_I am so excited to get away from here for a few days," Nessa said beaming. _

_Elphaba wheeled around immediately, an appalled expression on her face. _

"We _aren't going anywhere!" she snapped at her younger sister, but Glinda wrapped her arms around her and giggled happily. _

"_Of course not, silly, she is going with Bick."_

"_Boq," the Munchkin piped up._

"_With Boq?" _

_Elphaba was thoroughly confused. And angry._

"_Nessa, don't be ridiculous. You know just as well as I do that Father will _never _agree to this."_

"_And that's exactly why I told him that I am going with _you_." _

"_No Nessa, there is no way in hell that I stay here while you-"_

"_Of course not, Elphie, I know," the younger Thropp interrupted her. "You are going with Glinda and Fiyero."_

_Elphaba abruptly spun around to face the petite blonde and glare at her grinning face. _

"You_," she hissed, poking Glinda with a green finger. "This was_ your_ idea."_

"_So, are you coming?" _

"_If you don't let me go, I will forever hate you," Nessa threatened._

"_And if Nessa is gone and you remain at Shiz, your father will without a doubt find out that you let her go on a trip unchaperoned," Fiyero pointed out._

"_You, too?" Elphaba groaned. _

_Resistance was futile. _

_Not even a week later, Glinda, Fiyero and Elphaba were spending a sunny afternoon by the lake. The blonde and the prince had decided to go for a swim, but Elphaba preferred to stay behind and watch their bags while catching up on her studies. Maybe studying was not her only reason to opt out of the water fun, but it was an excuse her friends had readily accepted. _

_For a few moments her attention drifted from her book towards the happy couple. Watching them frolic in the water like little children inadvertently made her smile. Contrary to any worries she might have had, both of them had made more than just an effort to include her in whatever they had planned. And curiously, neither ever seemed to grow tired of their third wheel. In fact, it was Elphaba who once in a while needed to deny their requests to joint them because she was not used to the constant company. _

_Room arrangements also had surprised her. While she had expected the couple to be a little sneaky and use the opportunity to spend the nights together, she was sharing a room (and eventually a bed because the blonde had insisted that she had anxieties about sleeping by herself if she was unfamiliar with her surroundings) with Glinda, while Fiyero slept alone in a separate room. _

_"Elphie..." Glinda whispered one night. "Elphie, are you awake?"_

_The taller girl turned around to face her._

_"What is it Glin? Nightmares?" _

_Glinda shook her head and inched a little closer. _

_"No. Just not sleepy." _

"_Elphie…," she began once more after a few moments of silence had passed. "Have you ever been in love before?"_

_When Elphaba still did not reply, Glinda giggled nervously._

"_And I don't mean your books or anything like that. I am just wondering if at some point there has been _someone_ who-"_

"_I'm _green_, Glinda," the other girl then tossed out with more bitterness than she had intended, making the blonde recoil a little._

"_You say that as if it actually was the ultimate answer to my question," she said with a pout._

"_Well, it _is_." _

_Elphaba turned back on her other side, trying to signal her friend that the discussion was over. But either Glinda did not get her hint, or she wilfully ignored it. _

"_Seriously, Elphaba. I think you are simply too obsessed with the idea that everyone is too disgusted by your skin to see the real you. That might be true for the majority of people, but there are numerous exceptions."_

"_Hardly any," the raven-haired girl insisted. "There is you, my sweet, but that's different."_

"_How am _I_ different?" _

_Glinda really was not sure how to take this remark. Should she be angry, sad or perhaps happy? _

"_Besides," she continued then, pushing her confusion aside, "there also is Fiyero. You can't tell me that you haven't noticed the way he looks at you. There definitely is _something _there."_

"_Fiyero?" Elphaba asked uncertain._

_She thought back to the day they had rescued that Lion cub together, feeling the heat rise within and her cheeks flush. Just one clock-tick later, however, she remembered who she was talking to. _

"_Now you are being silly, my pretty," she rejected Glinda's proposition quickly and copying her friend's standard excuse, she said: "I need to sleep. I think I have a slight headache." _

_It seemed to work, for the blonde remained quiet after that. _

_On their last evening before returning to Shiz, the trio went to a local restaurant. The atmosphere was nice and the food was good. As was the wine. They enjoyed their meal in relative silence, but as soon as the plates were empty, they proceeded to animated talking and laughing and more drinking._

_They stayed long enough for the restaurant owner to literally kick them out about forty minutes after closing time. Elphaba was somewhat grateful though – Fiyero had had more drinks than both girls combined, but she was especially concerned about Glinda who could not really hold her liquor. _

_Thankfully, as they walked back to their hotel, the crisp night air seemed to help them sober up a bit. Glinda was clinging to her friend's arm and Fiyero had his arm draped over the blonde's shoulders, either oblivious or indifferent to the fact that his hand was lightly touching Elphaba's back. _

"_So, how do you ladies suggest we while away the rest of the evening?" the prince finally asked just before they reached their hotel. _

_Elphaba frowned._

"_I actually thought that you two were ready to retire and sleep."_

"_This is our last night of freedom, Elphie!" the blonde chimed in. "We have to make the most of it." _

_The green girl wrinkled her nose. _

"_My room has a minibar," Fiyero offered and thus the matter was settled._

_Upon arriving at their room, the girls quickly changed into their nightdresses and headed over to Fiyero's. The prince opened the small cooler and produced three miniature bottles, each containing some strong alcoholic substance._

"_Alright, Elphie, you can have the Green Fairy," he said handing her a small, green bottle._

_In reply she sent him a fierce glare._

"_Not because it's _green_," he was quick to appease her, "only because it's the most potent drink here and you seem to be far less drunk than Glin and I." _

_Her eyes softened a little and she accepted the bottle, although she had already decided not to drink any of it. _

_To Glinda Fiyero gave a bottle of sweet fruit schnaps and he himself downed some rum. _

_When an uneasy silence started to spread, Glinda jumped up from her seat on the couch and enthusiastically, but obviously more than just a little tipsy, bounced through the room._

"_Oh, I know!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Let's tell each other secrets; something we have never told _anyone_!"_

_Elphaba rolled her eyes and groaned in frustration. _

"_That again?"_

_But the blonde ignored her._

"_Elphie, you go first!"_

"_Fine," she huffed and tried to think of something she could share. _

"_Last month I helped Fiyero with cheating his way through the history project. I wrote over half of his essays and provided him with notes for the others."_

"_Hey, that isn't fair!" Fiyero protested. "That's more _my_ secret than yours." _

_Laughing Glinda patted Elphie's shoulder._

"_Don't pretend that you even care, Fifi," she admonished him. "But Elphie, on the other hand, surely feels absolutely awful about it. A very valid contribution to the game, if you ask me. But if you think you can do it so much better… Let's hear _your_ secret then." _

_Offering him a smug smile, she crossed her arms and waited for his reply. _

"_I love you, girls," he solemnly declared almost immediately; his eyes first met Glinda's, then Elphaba's. "And if it wasn't against Vinkun law, I would gladly marry both of you." _

_While Glinda merely giggled sillily, Elphaba blushed furiously. In an attempt to hide bewilderment and also to flush down the lump forming in her throat, she crossed the room to get herself some water from the tab. _

"_Oz, he's totally inebriated," she stage whispered in order to appear unaffected._

_Her blonde friend, however, plonked herself down on Fiyero's lap and hugged him._

"_But isn't it incredibly sweet, Elphie?" _

_The taller girl whirled around, looking at the couple incredulously._

"_Glinda, what in Oz's name?! Are you trying to tell me that you would actually agree to sharing Fiyero? Wouldn't you get terribly jealous, my sweet?"_

"_Well, I guess I would."_

_The blonde shrugged her shoulders slightly before standing up and throwing herself at Elphaba, causing her to spill some of her water._

"_But if I had to share him with _you_ I probably would be fine with that."_

_This was the alcohol speaking, Elphaba reminded herself and decided that she might want to consume some of her Absinthe after all; just to calm her nerves and be able to deal with the madness of it all. She retrieved the bottle from where she had hidden it and took a swig._

* * *

Yes, some moments of their vacation had been slightly awkward or confusing, but all in all she had had more fun than ever before. With Glinda. And Fiyero.

What would it have been like, if the prince really had married them both? The three of them together. Constantly. That sounded like the perfect recipe for mayhem. She also could not quite imagine how the whole intimacy-thing was supposed to work if there were _three_ of them. Wait – why was she even considering this?

Shaking her head, yet still with a little smile on her lips, she put the book away for the night. It was really about time she caught some sleep. She fluffed up her pillow and lightly kissed her husband's nose.

"Good night, Glin, and fresh dreams," she then whispered as if her friend could hear her, before making herself comfortable.

She was very close to drifting off to dreamland, when the squeaking of the door brought her back.

Sitting up again, she saw Liir standing at the end of their bed.

"Mummy, I'm thirsty," the boy whined and tiredly she got up to fetch him a drink and bring him back to his room.


End file.
